Choose the Trail Going Up

I swore at the end of ETR in 2015 that I would never do it again. It was a tough course and I was mentally and physically exhausted. If you know a trail runner, you know that "never" usually changes to "Sure!" as soon as someone else wants to share in the anguish with you!

We drove up the night before the race to my parents house in tiny Wynantskill, NY which is about an hour north of the race start in the Catskills. We visited and then turned in early since our wake up time was 4:30am. Next year, we will stay closer. I'm not a big fan of a drive in the morning. The forecast wasn't great for race day, but what are you going to do?

The good:
1. Beat last years’ time by 29:12. My pace in 2015 was 17:04 and this year was 15:30. Did well in slippery conditions too, so I KNOW there’s still room for more improvement!
2. Got through aid stations quickly and efficiently. Met some new-ish friends from favorite recent races (Hyner and World’s End) as well as running clubs in Philadelphia!
3. Hiked with purpose! Started race conservatively and hiked the early climbs even though I really wanted to run those more. This paid off in the 2nd half of the race and allowed for a decent kick in the end. I felt strong significantly stronger at the end this year vs last year (and yes, I was happy it was over since the rocks are relentless). I still have room to get better on the climbs! Always room to improve, right?!
4. Passed allot of guys who a – called us girls and b – said we looked strong (which we did). Not sure why this makes me happy, but it does. I told my daughter about 4 times and tonight she said, "Yes, mommy. I know you beat the boys. Good job."

The lessons:
1. Body glide, body glide, body glide. Chaffing is worse in rain. The rubbing, combined with a new pack, resulted in a big chafe on my neck. I packed fast after a busy week and this is what I forgot.
2. I’m WAY too conservative on the downs. I say this, but those downs were steep, full of big rocks/sharp rocks/loose rocks/flat slippery rocks disguised as regular ground, cliffs, and mud. But…… then I would see a group of guys some barreling down and knew in my heart I could physically do that too, but my brain won’t let my body release the fear. Definitely something to work on. I blame my fear on motherhood and having a subliminal instinct to not die so I can protect my young….I know it’s baloney!

I finally did it! 103.1 miles in 27:58 and 2nd place female.

Eastern States has been on my radar since it started in 2014. The allure of such a challenging race deep in the PA wilderness making one big loop was exactly what I was looking for. I signed up in 2018 and 2021 - both years I trained hard and the race was cancelled. I thought maybe fate was telling me Eastern States wasn't meant to be. So, I changed it up and ran Rim to River 100 in 2021. Rim to River was great, and I swore I was one and done with the 100 mile distance. It was so hard on my body. So much time for training. I did well. I knew I could do it and that was what mattered.

But Eastern States. Sigh. Heavy sigh. I could pace and volunteer again. I had nothing to prove. Then on December 4th I signed up.

Training

I only had one race in 2022 other than Eastern States and it was Tammany 10

This was another race that intrigued me. I'm generally not a fan of looped races, but 10 loops with about 40 miles and 12k in elevation gain in 10 hours seemed like excellent mental prep for Eastern States. I did the almost 2 hour drive to Delaware Water Gap 3 times to train in the snow, ice, rain - each visit increasing the number of loops I completed. I met a new person up there training for Tammany 10 each weekend and it reminded me how much I enjoy trail runners. But, this was a race I wasn't sure I could complete, and that made it fun. The race did not disappoint in it's difficulty and it pushed me hard to get it done in time for my ride and #1 fan (Mike) to be home to watch a Villanova basketball game. This race gave me confidence in myself and I became a better downhill runner navigating the steep and rocky descent so many times just to survive. I'll be back in 2023 to volunteer for that one!

I rarely use races for training anymore because I'm not good appropriately pacing in a race setting (must always try and catch person in front of me!). However, I did have a big training weekend planned. About 5 weeks out from race day, my friend Erica who was training for ES100 and pacer Tom, joined me for 3 days and over 65 miles on the course. We went through an insane moth outbreak that was like running through twilight zone, stinging nettle up to our waists, and super high blade grass (ugh hives). We saw a bear and her 2 cubs climb up a tree and a rattlesnake on a narrow section of trail. The rattler stayed in a comfortable coil before Tom moved it off the trail with a long tree branch so we could pass which might have resulted in my fastest pace on record.

I've never done a 3 day block like that and it was awesome to know what to expect on this course. This was a real test of my knee after an injury in late June and it held up great. It was also so much fun to hear Tom's stories about all of his ultras and Erica's positive energy makes it impossible to not feel joy on the trails. The PA courses I run are technical, but there's good sections that are runnable and it helped me to be able to strategize based on where those runnable parts were.

After a stretch of July heat training with many miles covered at Valley Forge, the Wissahickon, Trexler Preserve, and Delaware Water Gap, race day brought cooler temps and low humidity. I felt positive going into this race because I had covered 95% of the course in training runs (minus the section of Ritchie Run to Hyner - more on that later), had a good training block even with a cranky knee, and my crew and pacers were top notch.

1st Half

I proactively taped both of my knees - which felt really weird and dorky. BUT, tape works! My pack was loaded with Spring gels and flasks were full of tailwind. My sleep was spotty, but the week leading up had been good sleep so I felt excited, nervous, and ready to go! I kept saying, "I can't believe it's finally here."

The race started at Little Pine State Park at 5am and there’s a short section on the road before we enter the trail. My knee buckled around mile 2 and I internally panicked a bit, but it seemed ok after our 1st big climb. Erica told me after the race that she saw that buckle, but didn't want to say anything. Smart friend. We were in a conga line on the narrow trail and 1st big climb so I had to tell myself to sit back and enjoy the company. This is where my mantra for the day came - be patient.

Erica and I stayed together for some miles and we ran some with our friend Matt. It’s awesome having friends on the course and there were too many to count in this one. We breezed through the aid stations 1 and 2 feeling good about banking the time planned for each of them. I started stretching out my legs a bit and found myself alone on the trail wondering where I fell in the group of about 40 women that had started.

Seeing my crew and family at aid station 3 Lower Pine Bottom was so uplifting. They told me I was 2nd place woman and I felt surprised knowing that I had passed her on my way in to the aid station. I was hoping to take my headphones but they weren't connecting so I bagged it. The crew took good care of me and my daughter Mary had her stopwatch ready to hustle me out.

The race was progressing nicely. I saw my @trail_sisters_philadelphia friends at Browns Run. I had visualized running more of Browns Run, but I made a new friend, Aaron, and came back to my mantra - be patient. I saw @raelynnbianca Raelynn and her gorgeous daughter at the Happy Dutchman Aid Station. The sun was up and even though the temps were good, I was getting hot. Any time I was exposed to the sun I felt my energy draining.

When I arrived at Ritchie Road I was feeling ok, but getting more and more hot. I had in my mind that this would be an easy downhill to Hyner. This was the one section of the course I hadn't seen in advance. Lies! It wasn't great for me since big sections were exposed on a gravel road.

By the time I arrived at Hyner I was feeling zapped and worried that I was feeling this way at "only" 43 miles in. This is where a mantra comes in handy - be patient. Don't get attached to feeling good, don't get attached to feeling bad. I had gone through a small stream crossing right before Hyner that was enough to get my shoes wet so I changed into new socks and shoes. My feet were looking good at this point and body was holding up great. I still wanted to take my Leki poles because I was anticipating my knees would give up on me at some point and I was hoping the poles might extend my running time. Mary had her stopwatch going and gave me my 5 minute warning so I knew my precious time with family and friends was coming to an end.

Mary kicked us out and I was so happy to have Kelly join me. She lifted me up through what ended up being the toughest part of my race. I was telling myself - be patient, this will change. Kelly’s encouragement was priceless and she kept gently moving me along even though I wasn't the most talkative or greatest company. There were many times where I told myself - just put one foot in front of the other. I was counting a ton - run for 100 seconds, walk for 30 seconds, run for 200 seconds, walk for 60 seconds, and on and on to try and keep moving. Is this aid station ever going to appear?

When we got to Dry Run I got ice cold water which was delicious. I saw my friend Kristen volunteering which was so nice. Kelly got me to eat and I think she saved my race. Don't underestimate the power of a banana!

2nd Half

At slate run it feels like the 2nd half of the race is starting. Tom joined me from here to the finish. We had a solid climb to Algerines - I think the sun setting rejuvenated me. By the time we got to Blackwell my left foot was really bothering me. I spent 10+ minutes icing and got it wrapped by Dr. Bill - which may have saved my race since it continued to get worse.

Blackwell’s climb isn’t the hardest in the race, but with 80 miles on your legs it’s really tough. Going down started to get dicey too. But it also feels like a milestone because the hardest parts of the course IMO are done. We carried on still running some. I had some near life changing pancakes at Skytop that powered me through to Barrens aid station 8 miles later. I volunteered at Barrens twice and couldn’t wait for that cowbell! This was the last time I would see Mike before the finish and he didn’t let me get too emotional about it - if my mantra was be patient, my crew’s was “get going!”

The stretch from Barrens to the finish started with running, but my foot was getting more and more painful. Tom kept encouraging me and moving us along as I whimpered like a little baby. The final steep downhill was pretty rough but we were so close it barely registered. There was a narrow margin to breaking 28 hours so I dug deep and picked up the pace. As soon as I saw my son Michael I knew I had to give it everything.

It was a dream to finish this race after training twice and then cancellations. The course and work put into it were astounding - especially since we saw what condition it was in back in July.

This is a tough sport and the best community. I’m so grateful for the journey and memories.

What went well

1. Training

2. Nutrition

3. Knees

4. Course Preview

5. Crew

What could've been better

1. Nutrition - I need to eat more sooner.

2. Start - conga line. I tried to stay patient, and I think it's not a bad mantra, but looking back I think I could've raced harder had I started closer to the front of the pack.

3. Night before sleep